Eggners Ferry Bridge Collapse

Governor Beshear signs necessary order to
preserve state s eligibility

Kentucky Governor's Office press release

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Feb. 24, 2012) Gov. Steve Beshear has
signed an executive order formally declaring a regional
state of emergency in the destruction of a span of the
Eggners Ferry Bridge over Kentucky Lake.

The order is a formal step to enable the Kentucky
Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) to seek emergency funds from
the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in the cabinet s
ongoing work to restore traffic across Kentucky Lake.

We continue to explore every possible avenue in our efforts
to restore traffic to this vital highway in western
Kentucky, said Gov. Beshear. My executive order is one
more step toward that objective. By working with our
partners at FHWA, we hope to speed the process as much as
possible.

The two-lane Eggners Ferry Bridge carries U.S. 68/KY 80
across the lake between Marshall and Trigg counties. The
route was severed when a cargo vessel owned by Foss Maritime
struck and ripped away a 322-foot span of the bridge on the
night of Jan. 26. The following day, KYTC notified FHWA of
Kentucky s intent to request emergency funding to help
offset costs of repairs, transportation alternatives and
debris removal.

Gov. Beshear previously announced that engineers who
conducted an underwater inspection reported no significant
damage to the bridge s piers. That was a positive
development in KYTC s ongoing assessment of options for
interim and permanent solutions.

The 80-year-old Eggners Ferry Bridge provides the western
entrance to Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area
(LBL), one of Kentucky s most important tourism sites.

Substantial preconstruction work has been carried out for
two new bridges that will replace the Eggners Ferry Bridge
and a similarly aged and obsolete bridge over Lake Barkley,
on the other side of LBL. The recommended highway plan that
Gov. Beshear sent to the General Assembly on Jan. 17
provides $330 million in construction funding. That funding
will not be affected by cost of repairs to the old bridge.

Kentucky Lake, Lake Barkley, and Land Between The Lakes offer a unique vacation experience for everyone! Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley collectively is the largest body of water between the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico. Here you can enjoy fishing, boating, hunting, eating at great restaurants, and experiencing the numerous attractions of the Land Between The Lakes. The region is located just eight hours from Chicago, three hours from St. Louis and six hours west of the
Smoky Mountains.

Bullfrog

Photo by Ray Stainfield

No camping excursion is complete with a serenade from the resident bullfrog. There are a vast variety of amphibians to be found throughout the Land Between The Lakes Area.